When you marry a roasted pumpkin with rasam, you are really not trying to please an Italian palette, but just telling him/her that south Indian coastal flavors are much more or equally as versatile as Italian. The more and more I try to dig into flavors and working with it, the more I think, how badly the south Indian cuisine is marketed. Have you ever wondered, why Srilankan cuisine is considered more exotic and popular than South Indian? Sometimes I think we have even bastardized Idlis and Dosas to a large extent to suit Indian palette!!

Nevertheless, try this, my take on the Pumpkin Soup and let me know what you think. This can even be served as an ‘Amuse Douche’ in a short glass with char grilled prawn☺.

Add the chilli powder and salt to the olive oil in a small pan, mix well and heat it over very low flame for approx. 30 seconds of until you see very small bubbles surfacing and taking out of the heat and rest. Ensure you don’t burn the chilli powder so be patient and watch carefully.

Method

Speard out the pumpkin and 6 garlic cloves, in a roasting tray, drizzle olive oil on the pumpkin and roast it for 30 mins at 200 degree centigrade or until the pumpkin is soft and slightly caramelized on the outside

Blitz 3 tomatoes in a blender, and add 250 ml of water, chilli powder, turmeric and salt to taste. Bring it to boil and simmer it for 10 mins. Crush black pepper, cumin and 6 cloves of garlic together and add it to the simmering tomato, and let it simmer for another 5 mins. Take oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds until it crackles and add the curry leaves for a few seconds and add it to the simmering tomato, and turn off the heat. Mix weel and then strain it through a fine sieve and let it rest.

Now add the roasted pumpkin, the strained juice and 1 teaspoon coriander leaves in to a blender. Grind it until it becomes a silky smooth soup. Strain again and bring back the strained soup on to a low heat in a soup pan. Dd hot water to adjust the consistency and serve with chilli oil and coriander leaves.